This story in John 11 often carries the heading “Jesus Raises Lazarus,” but Jaime Clark-Soles calls it “The Confession of Martha.”1

As Gail O’Day aptly describes, “The miracle of the raising of Lazarus is the climax of John 11:1-44, but it is not its center...The conversation between Martha and Jesus is the theological heart of the story.”2

Luke (perhaps preserving a memory of the same family) pits Mary, who sits at Jesus’ feet against Martha, who is busy attending to the affairs of the house. Mary, Luke tells us, has chosen the better part (Luke 10:42). John, if he is aware of this tradition, flips the script (as he is often fond of doing). Martha -- taking initiative and speaking frankly -- matches Luke’s description, but here it is the bold and busy Martha who becomes the exemplar. This sister musters up a confession of faith in the midst of mourning. We’ll look to her story for an example of finding hope in sadness; you might call it, “Good Grief.”

Good grief

Martha goes out to meet Jesus with a complaint. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have ...